Palace

Our first tourist outing was taking the subway to a palace called Gyeongbok Palace, which is probably the most famous palace in Korea. We went to a free National Palace museum next door that was super interesting and had lots of royal documents and information about the Joseon dynasty. The palace was built in the 1300's and was the home for the king among other things. It was destroyed by Japan in 1592 but was rebuilt in the 1800's only to be destroyed again in 1915 when Korea was occupied by Japan. Since 1990 it has been rebuilt again and restored to its original state. It was really amazing and I definitely plan to go again.

As you can see in the pictures, there are a lot of people wearing traditional Hanbok dresses. If you wear a hanbok (or rent one for $20) you get into the palace free! Lots of people were doing this and taking pictures around the grounds. It was fun to see.

After all that we headed back to our area and picked a Chinese restaurant to try, ChinaPlane. We definitely got our money's worth in this restaurant, with sweet and sour and dumplings that will provide plenty of leftovers for another day. It was SOOO good. At the end they brought this little red drink that tasted like melted jello. Not sure what it was but it was tasty, lol!

First subway ride in Seoul

Dragon found in Incheon; seen in the Korean Palace museum

an old moat. Hudson was ready to swim in it, but alas it was empty

Palace throne

Changing of the guard happens every hour. Hudson was a bit freaked out by their swords.

so tired...

ChinaPlane restaurant food. Super yummy

Not sure what this drink was, but it tasted like jello before you put it in the fridge.